Factors correlated with the advanced life support simulation performance of senior medical students

Introduction

Even though medical education using simulation for medical students is increasing and suggests positive outcomes, little is known about factors associated with the performance of advanced life support simulation. We investigated the correlation between various factors and simulation performance using senior medical students.

Methods

Fourth-year medical students were enrolled and divided into six groups. Each group underwent a 2-week emergency medicine training. This study was conducted consecutively with a 2-week break between each group from March to July, 2009. Every student had an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) simulation performance test as a moderator, scored by two ACLS instructors certified by the American Heart Association. The following data were examined: basic life support (BLS) practice, personality characteristics survey, case presentation, one post-training written test, and two plan tests for the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE). The statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05.

Results

Forty-six students participated. No correlation was found between ACLS performance scores and personality type or medical knowledge as measured by the post-training written test and the two plan tests for the KMLE. However, scores of the BLS examination and the case presentation were moderately correlated with the ACLS performance scores: r = 0.390, 0.402, respectively (P < 0.01).

Conclusions

The ACLS simulation performance was correlated with the BLS skills and the case presentation. This supports the idea that the ability to manage resuscitation is associated with BLS skills and the capability to analyze and coordinate patient management. This result provides guidance for education of medical students.